The Kelowna Rockets hosted their annual teddy bear toss on Saturday night in front of thousands of fans at the Prospera Place.
Every December, teams in Major Junior and professional leagues around the world participate in the charitable event, which eventually makes it into the hands of children and senior citizens inside local hospitals. In a designated game, stuffed toys are tossed onto the ice immediately after the home team scores its first goal of the game.
But this one was different than a lot of tosses we’ve seen over the years. One of the toys, an elephant, was equipped with a special note from a ten-year-old girl.
When the Rockets delivered them to Kelowna General Hospital on Sunday, 17-year-old defenceman Kaeden Korczak wanted to personally deliver the toy and note to a patient, but was unable to meet the young boy due to a viral infection. Korczak did get a chance to wave to him, and after the Rockets uploaded the photo above, the child’s mom commented with a picture of her son holding the stuffed elephant.
This is why we love hockey today!
The young girl who wrote the note has not yet been identified, but regardless, it’s an incredibly heartwarming and kind gesture.
